Dance, Dance, Revolution

Three weeks and counting... On the day that I wrote my last post, I had the opportunity to talk with my Chef A and also Laura from LIFT Chicago. They allowed me to vent my frustrations and offered perspective and understanding. Overall, that whole moment was a breakthrough for me here. Since then, I have lightened up a lot. Not only have I started working on some of the projects that I am supposed to do for the LIFT Chicago crew, but I have just let go of my own notions of myself and what anything means to me. Because it is not about me. It is about these children and some young adults who are benefiting from the family, structure and opportunity that LIFT is providing for them. They are so optimistic and positive.

So I decided to relax and just be here now, so to speak. There is nothing I can possibly DO for these children. They take care of themselves for the most part and they have a good structure here. What they need is stability and continuity so they can keep on keepin' on and graduate, get that good job and have a good life for themselves and their families. I will be better equipped to help them with that when I get back to Chicago and can work in my world to help them in theirs. In the mean time, I am just here to watch, listen and learn. And what I have realized just recently, is that I also have the greatest gift to be a child again for a little while.

Two or three nights ago, myself and the college boys were on the roof of the Sweet Home having our evening discussion. I had brought a few mangoes up with us to snack on and my camp lantern to see by. They had brought a straw mat to sit on and complete innocent optimism and joy. It was their idea to go to the roof and talk under the moonlight. As the moon rose in the sky they requested that I turn off the camp lantern so that we would just be under the moon. They taught me the proper way to eat a mango, after politely watching me make a mess of myself doing it the wrong way. And there we were, just gleefully sitting under the moon, sweating profusely with mangoes in our bellies chit chatting away about school and swimming and practical exams about welding and family members and there were some songs sung after many bashful attempts to get out of the requests. I was completely happy. Not a care in the world, just this moment! I am relishing this feeling, hoping to keep it going as long as I can. I will never forget this moment for all of my life.

Today we started the summer camps. We are headquartered at the Chittikollum parish church where all of the students spend all day learning cultural activities. The hours between 8am and 10pm are spent dancing and bonding with each other. The first few days will be learning folk dances, after that there will be traditional street theater sessions that will teach the kids about creativity, self expression, teamwork, organization and leadership. At the end of each day, a group of students will put on a program (what they call a performance) for the rest of the group. It is the group's choice of what elements they will bring to their program. I can't wait to see what they come up with. As for me, I spent the cool hours of the morning learning four new dance moves with the upper level girls. It was so much fun I could hardly stand it. As a student myself, I had extensive dance training through my school programs. From grade 4 through 12, I had dance class every day instead of gym. I choreographed many many dances in my time which culminated in a major dance piece performed during my senior year of high school. So naturally, this totally rocks my world to be dancing again. I am so happy that I have almost forgotten about how many mosquito bites I have and the fact that my toilet stopped working.

Right now, I am awaiting a ride back to the church to have dinner with the children and see the first evening program. I have reapplied a layer of DEET, refreshed my camera batteries and am ready to go.